Bishop of Man (on the Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea right between
Belfast and Liverpool)

(entered heaven
around the year 498)

Dear
Maude,

Preaching to the choir again? It´s so easy to get comfortable, isn´t it? You have a nice group there going to your Bible study: good young men and women, trying hard to follow Christ, a solid core group of friends. Uh huh. And what about the girl down the hall who just had an abortion? Or what about those groups who spend their weekends tightening their chains of slavery to every kind of sin and excess? You who have received a lively faith, a healthy upbringing, a pleasing personality, do you think God has given you such precious gifts only for the sake of keeping similarly gifted peers from destruction? That for sure – but not only that; God wants the love of every heart, not only of those who love him already. Never write off those who are far away from Christ; God wants to call them back, and he can.

St Paul is the paradigm, but today´s saint follows the same pattern. St Patrick rescued him from a life of murder and debauchery (he was one of those Irish pirates that raided England for slaves). He truly reformed, gladly taking on the penance of voluntary exile from his homeland (St Patrick thought it would be easier to avoid relapsing if he left behind his evil companions). He set himself adrift in a little canoe, which washed up on the shores of the Isle of Man. By his example and his charity he won the hearts of the natives and eventually became their bishop.

So you see, we must never preach only to the choir; God wants to make saints out of everyone, and he wants you to help him.

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